Outdoor cooking devices have been in existence for many years and can be found in virtually all residences. These cooking devices generally consist of some type of combustion source such as charcoal briquettes or gas burners located in the bottom of a vessel which has a food support grid immediately adjacent an upper open end thereof. Usually these devices have a cover to enclose the food during the cooking process.
One such type of barbecue grill or kettle that has been marketed by the Assignee of the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,248. Another exemplary barbecue grill marketed by the Assignee of the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,964.
Because of the potential market for outdoor cooking devices of the above type, various accessories have been developed for use in connection with the conventional barbecue grill that has a food supporting grid supported therein. Examples of such accessories are racks that are used for holding food during the cooking process, roast holders, condiment holders, and various other holders for supporting other food products. Exemplary of one type of accessory is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,585, assigned to the Assignee of the present invention which discloses a wire rack that is configured to support food products, such as ears of corn or whole potatoes. Further examples are disclosed in Weber-Stephen Products Co. 1984 copyrighted catalog and illustrated on Pages 28 and 29 which are submitted as part of the record for the subject application.
One of the problems with prior known accessory food supporting devices is the fact that they are of a unitary construction and therefore occupy a substantial amount of space and also require larger packages for shipment and display. In addition, the known type of food support racks are difficult to clean because of the unitary construction.
Thus, there remains a need for a universal support rack that occupies less space when not in use, but is still extremely versatile in providing adequate support for various food products on an outdoor grill and can easily be separated for cleaning.